Want clients? Prioritize visibility over perfection
Why "I’ll start posting after my website is ready" hurts you
In the past few months, I’ve received many messages from freelancers through Substack, LinkedIn, and email. Most of them are about marketing. And nearly all of them end with the same thought:
“I just need to finish X, and then I’ll start posting.”
Usually, X is their website. As in, “I will post on LinkedIn once my website is ready.”
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone (and I’m not calling out any individual—I’ve read many of these messages recently, and I even felt this way in the past, too).
But here’s the thing: this approach is backwards.
Most people won’t discover you through your website. And they rarely look you up the first time they come across you on social media.
It’s nice to think your first social media post will be so brilliant that thousands of people will engage with the post and run to your website, desperate to hire you. And your website will be so well done, so enticingly perfect that they’ll all sign on immediately and you’ll never be without clients again.
But—and I hate to be the bearer of bad news here, but, like your accountant at tax time, sometimes that’s my job—that’s not typically how human nature works. It’s right up there with dreams of winning the lottery in terms of both commonness and unlikeliness.
Think about your online habits. How many times do you see someone’s post before you finally click their link or Google them? And even after that, how long is it before you purchase from them? One post usually isn’t enough. It takes multiple touchpoints to make someone curious enough to seek you out. They want to feel comfortable and familiar with you before they investigate you further, if they ever do.
Some of my best clients have never visited my website. They connected with me on LinkedIn, saw consistent content, and sent a message asking for samples. My website sits as unseen as the last page of Google search results.
What’s the harm in waiting until your website is finished before you post?
Let’s look at a realistic timeline:
Build your website (3–4 weeks, conservatively)
Update your LinkedIn or other profile (1 week, unless you’re a perfectionist, in which case it could be multiple weeks)
Ease into posting (another 1–2 weeks, at least)
Start gaining traction (the algorithm needs time: 2 weeks)
Begin receiving DMs or client interest (add 2–3 more weeks)
That’s 9–12 weeks—just to start getting noticed. If you need clients tomorrow, working on your website isn’t going to do it.
People can’t hire you if they don’t know you exist. And they won’t find your website via search, because that takes at least a few weeks to take effect.
Working on your website feels like progress. It is important. But it’s also safe, quiet, low-visibility work. You can spend weeks perfecting it without ever actually putting yourself in front of people.
And that might be the real reason you’re delaying.
Not because your site needs to be perfect, but because posting feels vulnerable. You’re waiting to feel "ready." You want everything to feel perfect. So instead of taking the steps to get yourself comfortable with social media, you’re focusing on getting the website done first. And you tell yourself it’s about the website, but it’s about delaying the discomfort of posting.
Here’s what’s true: every day your website isn’t online and you’re not posting is another day people don’t know your business exists. And if building the website is just a cover for what’s really holding you back, then you’ll always find more reasons not to market yourself.
You’ll wait until the situation is desperate before you market yourself online, and when it doesn’t work immediately, you’ll give up.
I know it’s tempting to think that as soon as you share your shiny new site, people will flock to it like you’re Noah and the big storm’s a-brewing. But that thinking is holding you back. It’s pressuring you to get things perfect before you jump in. It’s causing undue stress and worry that even a small mistake will cost you vital business.
Most people won’t visit your website at first. Maybe one or two, if your most loyal family members are having a slow day. But it will take time for most people to feel compelled to learn more about you.
Rather than taking that as a negative, let that free you from pressure.
Let it give you permission to start showing up:
Build your LinkedIn (or other social media) profile now.
Share past work as featured content.
Start posting a little at a time.
Let your website take shape while you build visibility (and use some of your LinkedIn profile to build your website content from).
That way, when your website is ready, you’ve already given people a reason to care.
You’ve got something worth sharing, I know you do.
Heidi
PS: If you’re feeling stuck or unsure how to start, I’ve put together a LinkedIn Success Bundle. It includes:
A guide to adding the right keywords so you show up in search
A resource on how to share content while you're still finding your voice
And a new guide on how I come up with consistent content ideas without waiting for inspiration
It’s for freelancers who know they should be on LinkedIn but feel hesitant, self-conscious, or unsure of where to begin. You don’t have to go viral to be successful. It’s about sharing your knowledge in a way that helps others and using that to grow your business.
You can buy them all as a bundle or each individually, if you prefer. (Paid Happy Freelancing subscribers, you get a discount on those items, so email me and I’ll send you the discount link.)
And if those resources aren’t for you, that’s okay—just promise yourself you’ll stop waiting for perfect.